Referred Shoulder Pain

Referred pain means that a problem exists somewhere else in the body other than where you feel the pain. It causes unexplained pain in the shoulder that does not change or subside when you move your neck, shoulder, or arm or that occurs with symptoms elsewhere.

Causes of referred shoulder pain may include

Osteoarthritis

Brachial plexus injury

Cervical disc bulge

Cervical facet joint sprain

Cervical postural syndrome

Cervical spine degeneration (neck arthritis)

Thoracic disc bulge

Thoracic facet joint sprain

Thoracic postural syndrome

Costovertebral joint sprain

Spinal degeneration (thoracic)

Regardless of patient type, prior to initiating treatment the orthopaedic surgeon does a thorough history and physical examination. Where indicated, additional information is obtained through X-ray images or MRI.